Sherman Shoate, the hip-hop choreographer and director of Culture Shock San Diego, has won a $10,000 Dance: Creation to Performance grant from the Irvine Dance in California Program, a joint venture of Dance USA and the dance-friendly James Irvine Foundation.

One of 18 Golden State choreographers to garner awards ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 for the creation and performance of a new work, Shoate is the only local dance artist to receive funding this year from the Irvine Dance in California Program, which has previously funded the Irvine Fellowships in Dance and the California DanceMaker Grants. His project, selected from a highly competitive field of 136 entries, draws on interviews with adolescents and aims to help young people make positive choices in their lives.

"Sherman's work just blew everybody away," said program administrator Julie Carson.

Other recipients of this first round of grants include dance great Anna Halprin and Sushi regulars Victoria Marks and Stephanie Gilliland. Most of the choreographers who won awards this year practice Western Contemporary concert dance, though awards also went to practitioners of Cambodian, Persian, Middle Eastern and Flamenco dance forms. Shoate was the only hip-hop artist to garner an award.

The three-year, $1-million Dance: Creation to Performance (DCP) grants represent the latest effort by Irvine Dance in California officials to fund projects that will have a major impact on the field. This year's awards put $225,000 in the hands of artists.

"So much funding has left the state, especially for dance," Carson said. "We wanted something that had as much breadth as possible, so for the new round of funding (from the Irvine Foundation) we proposed a program that would benefit emerging, mid-career and senior artists in the creation and public sharing of new work."

Dance artists interested in applying for the next round of grants should visit the Dance USA Web site, www.danceusa.org. Guidelines for 2005 grants will be up by year's end. The application deadline is in early April.

Meanwhile, local dance lovers can check out the Culture Shock style at an Oct. 24 open house celebrating the first anniversary of the Culture Shock Dance Center at 2110 Hancock St. in Middletown. The open house runs from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and features free dance classes in ballet, hip-hop, Brazilian, jazz and more. Information: (619) 299-2110.

PASACAT Philippine Dance Company celebrates its 34th season with a two-hour program of traditional Philippine dance and music on Saturday. The show, at La Jolla's Sherwood Auditorium, features 25 dancers and eight musicians, and promises to be a colorful cultural portrait. Tickets: $16 to $25; (619) 477-3383.

California Ballet opens its 2004-05 season with Charles Bennett's family-friendly "Snow White" on Saturday and next Sunday at the Poway Center for the Arts. Also on the program: Francisco Gella's "Suite Vivaldi," which was commissioned for the company's 35th anniversary, and "Valse Triste," by Cal Bal alum Patrick Nollet. Shows at 1 and 5:30 p.m. both days. Tickets: $20 to $39; (858) 560-6741.

"Are We There Yet?" is the latest offering from Liliana Cattaneo, the up-and-coming choreographer whose work stood out at the Sept. 11 "Emerge" showcase at the Garfield Theatre. Her company, XDrop, performs at 8 p.m. Oct. 7-9 and 2 and 6 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza. Tickets: $15 to $20; (619) 544-1000.

"Tango meets Broadway" is the buzzword for "Tango Pasión," the touring show that arrives Oct. 10 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Tickets: $40 to $50; (800) 988-4253.

The gorgeous dancer Faith Jensen-Ismay and her Mojalet Dance Collective join forces with Jensen-Ismay's sister, the artist Hope Smith, for "Gallery Dances" at SDSU Studio Theater Oct. 22-24. The show also features choreography by Jean Isaacs and Patricia Sandback. Tickets: $10 to $14, at the door only.

"Gajamukha" lands in La Jolla Oct. 23 for a one-night-only performance at the Neurosciences Institute Performing Arts Theater. Directed by Jayanti Raman (recipient of a 2003 National Dance Project award), the show features a 12-member ensemble of dancers and musicians performing Southern Indian classical dance and music. Information: (858) 254-2366.